Posted on

Press readers remember remarkable moonwalk, 50 years ago

Press readers remember remarkable moonwalk, 50 years ago
George Cummins, of Charles City, was stationed in South Korea in 1969 when the first man walked on the moon. He is shown with a newspaper from that time and a Korean civilian affairs officer. Photo submitted
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

I was 11 years old, living in Carroll in the summer of 1969 and already on the way to officially becoming a science and science fiction nerd, and so I was understandably interested in the Apollo mission.

There was a huge National Geographic map of the moon and its phases tacked to my bedroom wall.

It was an exciting time, as Apollo 11 blasted off on the morning of July 16 from Cape Kennedy, Florida, then at 3:17 CDT on July 20, the lunar module touched down on the moon and Neil Armstrong announced, “The Eagle has Landed.”

I was outside playing that evening and I remember my dad yelling at me out the back patio door that the moonwalk was about to happen, earlier than had originally been scheduled.

We had a black-and-white TV in the family room at that time that we must have used to watch the broadcast when Armstrong placed his first step on the moon at 9:39 p.m. CDT. I remember the excitement of the time, but interestingly, I don’t have any specific memories of seeing the actual first steps on TV.

I do remember the next morning Dad showing me the biggest headline I had ever seen on the front page of the Des Moines Register. In huge all-caps letters in blue ink, it proclaimed “MAN WALKS ON MOON!”

As I later became involved in newspapers as a career, I’ve wondered why they chose blue ink. It’s possible they were going for some sort of “blue moon” inference, or in those days before regular color photos in papers it may just have been the color ink they had on hand.

Almost everybody who was alive at the time of the first moonwalk remembers where they were and what they were doing at that moment.

We at the Press have been gathering some readers’ memories of the historical event. Here are several of them:

• • •

Ann Schneckloth, Charles City

I was at home the evening of the moonwalk. I was waiting to see them step down from the landing module. Right after that, I went to the hospital and my daughter, Margo, was born on that day.

She will be 50 on July 20, 2019. We have always had some kind of lunar celebration on July 20 every year since 1969.

• • •

By Mayetta Usher, Charles City

The day man landed on the moon I was watching it on TV with my 15-month-old toddler. When Neil Armstrong said his famous quote, my daughter and I hugged each other and her brother (whom I was expecting in October), jumped for joy.

It meant the start of a new, exciting age for the U.S., and the fulfillment of President Kennedy’s dream, and I felt proud to be a witness to it.

I was so proud to be an American that day. It was awe-inspiring to see it.

• • •

By Dan Squier, Charles City

In July 1969, I was a 22-year-old sailor aboard the USS Chicago. At the time of the moonwalk, the ship was visiting the port of Yokosuka, Japan.

We were taking a break from our patrol duties off the coast of North Viet Nam. I had signed up for a one-day tour of Tokyo. While walking the streets, I saw a group of Japanese outside a store, watching something on the television in the display window.

I’m not very tall (5’9”) but was able to see over the heads of the Japanese and realized they were watching the moonwalk! Due to the time change, it was actually around noon on the 21st of July in Tokyo.

I remember being extremely proud of my fellow Americans to achieve such a feat that was watched around the world in amazement.

• • •

By Susan Jacob, Charles City

In the summer of 1969 I was home after completing my first year of college. Growing up in the ’60s, I was fascinated with the space program. My dad, a farmer, was also intrigued by the idea of putting a man on the moon. So that July we stayed up all night to watch the news coverage of Apollo 11.

My dad was a taciturn man, not given to outward displays of affection. To share an interest with him and have time dedicated to me was rare. It made watching the moonwalk very special.

• • •

By Sharon Schneider, Colwell

On July 16, 1969, I was at home watching the moon launch with my husband on our new COLOR television. We were expecting a baby and it was past due. I was already in labor, but I am such a slowpoke that it was 21 hours before we went to the hospital. I was glad to be at home to see the suspenseful launch. We then went to the hospital and by suppertime, we had a fine son.

Now this was 1969, and pregnant women did not have the “drive-by” deliveries of 2019. Plus, it had been a long labor, so baby Andrew and I were still in the hospital (now FCMC) on July 20. My husband came in to visit us and, together, he and I watched those amazing first steps on the moon — but in only black and white.

• • •

By Phil Hess, Charles City

At that time, I was living in Globe, Arizona, with my wife and five daughters. I was working for the Post Office. On the day of the moonwalk, we had gone, early in the morning, to visit with relatives in Lordsburg, New Mexico.

As we drove home on US Highway 70, through San Carlos Indian Reservation just west of Peridot, Arizona, KIKO radio announced Neil Armstrong had walked on the moon.

• • •

By Gary Quint, Charles City

Growing up during the space race era, I was a big fan of NASA’s manned space flights. I followed all the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights religiously. However, I missed seeing the July 20th landing because I was in New Delhi, India!

I was in the Air Force at the time and was recruited into a unit called the White House Communication Agency. Our duties involved going ahead of the president or vice-president and setting up communications for him, his staff and the Secret Service.

President Nixon was due in New Delhi and we were busy getting ready for his visit. We did not have access to television and missed the whole event!

Thankfully, my wife saved newspapers and a few magazines for me to read when I got home, but it wasn’t the same as seeing it live. The PBS series “Chasing the Moon: American Experience” has been wonderful to watch this past week and has brought back a lot of fond memories.

• • •

By George Cummins, Charles City

In July 1969, I was the commanding officer of Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion. Our unit was in the field, building an East-West road about 10 miles south of the DMZ in South Korea as a fallback position in case of another invasion from the north. The Vietnam War was ramping up, a US spy plane had been shot down over the Sea of Japan and there was concern that North Korea would open a second front on the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions were high and the moon landing provided an event to briefly celebrate. I am pictured with K.S. Kim, a civil affairs officer, who was invaluable in right-of-way negotiations with local officials, farmers and other private citizens. He was originally from North Korea and came south at the end of the Korea War. Mr. Kim claimed that the two Koreas would never agree to reunite. Fifty years later, he continues to be right.

Social Share

LATEST NEWS